


Eros Unrequited

by narkao (sophluorescent)



Series: Mars Verse [3]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk Elements, Alternate Universe - Space, Cloning and Resurrection, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, References to Major Character Death, Selfcest, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:00:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23453668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophluorescent/pseuds/narkao
Summary: Baëkhyun doesn’t even see it for the betrayal it is. He’s naïve, foolish, and attached. He loves Baekhyun with his whole heart and can’t even recognize that it is never reciprocated, has never been.Not even now, as he leans down and captures Baekhyun’s lips with his own.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Byun Baekhyun, Minor Byun Baekhyun/Byun Baëkhyun/Kim Minseok | Xiumin
Series: Mars Verse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1687231
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	Eros Unrequited

**Author's Note:**

> This is written as a companion work for Mirror of Mars! Uh, that being said, this can stand as a standalone work! It's set a little after the beginning of Mirror of Mars, and before the main events of that story, if you are reading this in succession! 
> 
> I really wrote this just so I’d have something to take a break and work on amidst the larger fic, and while it's not the most substantial thing I've written, I'm fond of it and the dynamic I was able to explore. 
> 
> Please, as always, take a look at the tags/warnings before you dive in! If you think a tag needs to be added, just let me know and I'll happily add it. If you enjoy, please do let me know via comments or kudos, or even on twitter (which will be linked at the end notes). I'd love to hear what you think ❤︎

Minseok sits with Baëkhyun draped over his lap, a glass in hand, his dark eyes focused on Baekhyun, who stands at the window, empty gaze staring out at the city’s flickering blue and red lights.

“I have a job for you two,” he says, voice a low cadence, rasped by an earlier smoke break, smoothed over by the liquor he now drinks.

Baekhyun turns then, fixing his stare on the human. “And what might that be?” He asks. Baëkhyun’s gaze flickers between them, a frown marring his otherwise serene face. He’s more attuned to Baekhyun’s actual feelings. After all… the experiment had created a link between them. An unanticipated link, but a link nonetheless.

So, Baëkhyun can _feel_ Baekhyun’s annoyance, even if it doesn’t show on his face. He’s always careful about his expressions around Minseok. It’s born from his distrust of the crime lord. After all, Baekhyun had not sought him out because he intended to join this lifestyle. He’d sought Minseok out for protection. For he and his clone.

He sought him out because, if Baekhyun were to die, Minseok’s the only person he trusts to kill his clone as well. So, really, he just sought Minseok for his shitty morals. And, it worked out. _Somewhat_.

The side-effect of becoming Minseok’s right and left hand is that they perform tasks for him. His dirty work, if you will.

Minseok’s voice brings Baekhyun back to attention. “There’s someone causing trouble in Menkar. I can’t deal with them personally for obvious reasons-”

“Your tragic past?” Baëkhyun quips.

“Mhm, something like that,” Minseok humors. “So, I need someone to take care of it in my place.”

Baekhyun rolls his eyes, “Who do you need killed this time?”

Minseok doesn’t answer with a name. “I’ll forward you the information and I’ve called ahead to the dock. Your ship will be ready within the hour. Be prompt.” Then, he nudges Baëkhyun off of his lap and stands up, ignoring the teasing spank Baëkhyun lands on him. He leaves his glass on the countertop, then exits the suite, leaving Baekhyun and his clone alone with the already fading scent of his cologne.

Baëkhyun’s eyes immediately flit over to Baekhyun, who has not moved an inch since Minseok’s exit. He’s tense, his morals at odds for several minutes, before he releases a breath and lets go of all that tension, allowing his muscles to relax. “You heard him; we have a job.”

Baëkhyun pushes himself off the couch with an air of reluctance, his fingertips trailing across the fabric, before he rises up and strides towards Baekhyun, who immediately puts a hand out on Baëkhyun’s chest, stopping him in place.

“I’m dressed to leave. You are not. Get dressed,” he says.

Baëkhyun rolls his eyes, shoulders slouching, “You’re no fun after Minseok visits. You get all tense and moody.”

“I’m normally tense and moody,” Baekhyun counters.

“Not always,” Baëkhyun murmurs, gently lifting Baekhyun’s hand from his chest and instead draping it over his shoulder as he steps close. Presses _them_ closer. “You’re so sweet in the mornings,” he whispers, breath washing over Baekhyun’s neck, his jaw. “Especially after good sex,” he continues, biting Baekhyun’s earlobe playfully.

He pulls away even as Baekhyun’s lips part, a blush rising to his face. “I’ll go get dressed, if that’s really what you want?”

And though Baekhyun’s eyes do trail over his form, he’s not so weak-willed as to immediately give in to his clone’s advances. “That’s what I want,” he agrees, turning away so that he won’t see the way Baëkhyun’s face falls frustratedly.

He waits while Baëkhyun gets dressed, then they both leave for the ship. Baëkhyun’s frustration follows them like a storm cloud, but Baekhyun is stubborn and unwilling to submit to Baëkhyun’s whims, so frustrated, the clone will remain.

***

They land on Kabira roughly three days after leaving Dulcinea. Those three days spent in tense silence, broken only by the short moments when Baekhyun’s willing to show Baëkhyun some kind of affection. It’s rare, always fleeting, and never appears to come from a conscious thought.

Baekhyun’s reminded of it now as he represses the urge to fix Baëkhyun’s hair, his hand twitching just before he chokes the thought. “Boss has a compound here,” he says, stepping off the landing dock and leading Baëkhyun towards the transit gate. “We won’t be looking around all that much,” he continues once they’ve been picked up by their driver, their weapons laid across their laps.

He ignores the way Baëkhyun’s face falls, but the disappointment filters over their conscious bond. He’d known it wouldn’t be popular with the clone. And really, there isn’t any reason to keep Baëkhyun cooped up inside… but, Baekhyun’s not exactly indulgent when it comes to Baëkhyun (except for in the rare moments when his heart moves faster than his mind), especially when they’re on a job.

So, knowing that they won’t be exploring, Baëkhyun turns his face towards the window and drinks in the foreign planet’s appearance.

Kabira is opposite Dulcinea in almost every way. It’s a deep red, heavy and foggy, with great black buildings and streets empty of people (except for those few in silvery, reflective coats and helmets). The light from the planet’s star, Menkar, a red giant, is strong. Strong enough that even in this car, Baekhyun feels the effects of its heat.

He’s glad when the car pulls into the underground neighborhood Minseok’s compound lies within. And, that’s where they get out, on the outskirts, far from the compound itself.

Baekhyun pays the driver remotely, then, urges Baëkhyun out of the car and onto the street, where they immediately press to the shadows, both of them keeping their rifles in hand—a warning to anyone who sees them on the street.

Kabira is like Dulcinea in that its crime is often violent and often goes uninvestigated, unsolved. Baekhyun would very much like to survive his relatively short stay on the planet, and he’d like Baëkhyun to survive it as well.

When they arrive at the compound, he breathes a real sigh of relief. One that has Baëkhyun’s eyebrow arching and his eyes glittering with curiosity. He’d obviously been able to feel Baekhyun’s wariness, but his own caution hadn’t been born from experience and so he must be itching to know what it is about Kabira that puts Baekhyun on edge. Again, though, Baekhyun does not indulge him with that information. So long as Baëkhyun continues to mirror Baekhyun’s caution, there is no reason for him to know.

Baekhyun scans open the door and drops his travel bag just inside its threshold. Baëkhyun does the same, then immediately strides away to explore the large house. “First floor is kitchen, guest bedrooms, lounge, and bar. Second floor is the master bedroom and bathroom and a private lounge. Basement is the garage, laundry rooms, and security team’s rooms.”

“We have a security team here?”

“A theoretical one. No one’s on payroll right now since we don’t come here often, though,” Baekhyun says. “Just you and me here.”

“Presumably,” Baëkhyun quips, already walking upstairs to check out the rest of the house. At least Baekhyun’s taught him well, he thinks as he walks down to the basement and checks to make sure it’s also locked up and unused.

The compound checks out completely, leaving the two of them, indeed, alone. “Change out of that outfit,” he says the next time Baëkhyun appears downstairs, “We’ve got time now to go to Xena Farz’s office. I’d like to do so. Wear a mask and something formless in case anyone sees us breaking in.”

“Won’t they have alarms and cameras?”

“They’ll have cameras, but I’ve got a friend stifling them. They’ve replaced all current footage with old tapes. The office is essentially running its security blind. As for the alarms, those have also been cut,” Baekhyun explains.

“Then, I shouldn’t have to change if how we arrived was any indication. People walking up the streets with assault rifles don’t fly unless the crime rates are through the roof. This obviously isn’t a place where the authorities mean much of anything,” Baëkhyun deducts smoothly.

“But people _will_ talk to the mob. Because the mob _does_ run this place, and if they know you were there and said nothing, you’re as good as dead. Go change.”

Baëkhyun rolls his eyes, disappearing with his bag in hand. He reappears a few minutes later dressed in all black, with a mask drawn over his face and a hood pulled up over his silvery hair.

They set out immediately, Baekhyun leading the way. He’s already taken the time to memorize their routes via digital maps, so he walks through the streets with more than a passing familiarity with them. He’s scoped out every aspect of this journey in order to ensure their success.

Baëkhyun gets distracted—he always does—stopping to listen to music that’s playing out of various shops and eateries or pausing to watch a street fight break out. Baekhyun almost wishes they’d taken the above-ground route, where people would have been near extinct. But, so long as he catches Baëkhyun quickly, before he can go inside one of those places, or join the crowd forming around a fight, there’s really no need to worry. It’s just a momentary pause from their mission.

And a momentary lapse of Baëkhyun’s judgment, in which he’s left vulnerable to a mugging or worse.

They _do_ arrive at their targeted location, though. At a glance, the place has been locked up, but, after Baekhyun keys in, he hears the whirring of the air conditioning units and knows that there are definitely still people here working.

They take the stairs. The elevator’s too risky, too contained. If their camera tactic fails, it’d be too easy too get trapped in the little box.

“So, who is Xena Farz,” Baëkhyun asks on the third landing of twenty five.

“Crime lord. Happens to be in bad blood with Minseok. She recently killed off a few of his associates and whatever truce they had has obviously gone to shit. We’re here to off her and her second-in-command, leaving Minseok’s insider time to pick up all the pieces and wrestle power,” Baekhyun says easily, taking the steps two at a time. Kabira has a heavier gravity than Dulcinea, which makes it difficult, but, he’s very keen on getting this job done quickly.

They force open the door on the twenty-fifth floor. It opens to a lounge, thankfully empty, and a large set of wooden doors. Which draws Baekhyun’s eyes around them. The design of the office is remarkably… Earth-like. He wonders, very briefly, if this place used to belong to Minseok, or if Xena Farz is, like Minseok, human, before he kicks open the door.

Baëkhyun brandishes his rifle, Baekhyun chooses a sleeker, smaller pistol.

Boss Farz sits at her desk, hand halfway to her gun when Baekhyun shoots. A simple, calculated shot that embeds itself in her shoulder. It thrusts her back in her chair. She _is_ human, curiously so.

“Is it a fake name or are you halfblooded?” Baekhyun asks, walking inside.

Xena watches him with cold, hateful eyes. “Kim sent you?”

“If he had?” Baëkhyun teases, leaning in the doorway, his gun still trained on the woman at her desk.

“Doesn’t matter, I suppose,” Xena bites out. She turns to Baekhyun. “Does my blood look human to you?” Which really is a good point to make, because the front of her shirt, where Baekhyun’s bullet had speared through, is coloring a brilliant blue. So, she _is_ halfblooded. Must just take after her human parent. “What do you want?”

“Your comm, if you would?” Baekhyun says, but the request is more of a command.

Xena’s gaze holds his for a long minute.

“I’m getting bored just standing here. Your comm,” Baekhyun repeats, holding out his empty hand. She fishes it out of her pocket and puts it in his palm.

At the same time, her other hand reaches for the pistol on her desk. Baekhyun shoots her without hesitation, jaw twitching at the spatter of blood that reaches his face.

“You look good in blue,” Baëkhyun murmurs, swiping his thumb through some of the foreign blood speckling Baekhyun’s face. Baekhyun pushes Baëkhyun’s hand away, lip curled at the action. His attention already back to the comm, even as Baëkhyun pulls a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket to wipe away the spatter.

“How long do we have to stay here?” He says now, seeing that Baekhyun’s still in no mood to play.

“Long enough for her second-in-command to show up. Which could be minutes, hours, days,” Baekhyun says, rolling the alien’s office chair back and shoving her corpse out of the seat. Hetakes the handkerchief from Baëkhyun’s hands, wipes down the back of the seat and the desk, sits down in the chair, then folds the fabric and slips it into his pocket. “Hopefully, since I’ve just pinged them, they’ll show up sooner rather than later.”

Baëkhyun seats himself on the edge of the desk, facing Baekhyun. It’s really not a good place to sit should their enemy enter the room shooting, but Baekhyun can’t bring himself to tell Baëkhyun to get down.

“I hope it’s not too long, I have plans for when we get home,” Baëkhyun says, the slightest lilt in his voice.

“No,” Baekhyun says, voice unfairly harsh. It shuts Baëkhyun up, and he looks over at his original with a quirked brow but knowing eyes. It’s been a while since he’s gone on an assassination job with Baekhyun. He’d almost forgotten how Baekhyun gets after them. Perhaps, it isn’t a time for Baëkhyun to joke.

So, they remain in silence, the only thing between them the impatient tap of Baëkhyun’s shoe against the floor and the click of Baekhyun flicking the safety on and off of his gun.

The door opens after an hour. Baekhyun looks up and shoots without a second thought. The body crumples down outside without a word.

Baekhyun calls Minseok, “Job’s done. We’re heading back to the compound. We’ll be on our way back tomorrow.”

Minseok starts to praise them, but Baekhyun’s already passed the comm into Baëkhyun’s hands. After all, Baëkhyun’s the attention whore. He’ll like having Minseok stroke his ego for a few minutes.

In the meantime, Baekhyun cleans up. Not to the degree that this would become anything other than a crime scene, but enough that their prints won’t be easily lifted from anything (if there were, by some odd chance, to be an investigation) and so that they won’t be tracked out of the building. When he straightens up after wiping down one last surface and turns, Baëkhyun’s watching him with a pensive gaze, his eyes tracking Baekhyun’s every movement, his lips downturned in a frown.

He hangs up the comm and slips it into his pocket before sliding off the desk and walking up to where Baekhyun stands, reaching out to grip Baekhyun by the shoulders.

“Keep it together,” he urges.

Baekhyun certainly has no visible signs of being on the verge of falling apart, but… their bond means Baëkhyun is intimately aware of the emotional turmoil Baekhyun’s in. Not that it’s uncommon, but… rarely does Baëkhyun have the chance to reach out for Baekhyun and offer support.

Normally, he is the source of that turmoil. But now… now it’s something else. It’s Baekhyun, the monster, himself

“C’mon. We should get home,” Baekhyun says, forgoing that conversation for the time being.

Baëkhyun’s frown deepens, but he doesn’t protest. “Yeah, let’s,” he agrees, letting Baekhyun take him by the hand and tug him back out the building.

***

Back home, Baëkhyun cradles his face between his palms, soft, gentle, and affectionate. His eyes are black, completely unreflective in the darkness of the bedroom, and seem to bore into his very soul. And like this… perhaps they are. Baekhyun only gets like this after a job, when he has no where to turn to for an outlet. No one to turn to except for Baëkhyun. No one to turn to except for _himself_.

He’s weepy, tears lining his lower lashes—unfairly honest by appearance. Baëkhyun is the only person to see him like this, the only one that will _ever_ see him like this, if Baekhyun can help it.

To some degree, having Baëkhyun with him helps. Helps him feel less responsible for his actions. He’s a monster because the experiments made him that way. Because their making Baëkhyun _broke_ the original. Made him lose his sense of self. Made Baekhyun turn to violence just to feel something—guilt, anger, loathing?

But, Baëkhyun’s presence is only helpful in that destructive manner. Because Baekhyun _hates_ him to every degree that is possible. Baëkhyun reminds him that he is replaceable. That he is a product to be used and not a person to be respected. And the only reason this helps is because he gets to use Baëkhyun just like he’s always afraid to be used.

And Baëkhyun doesn’t even see it for the betrayal it is. He’s naïve, foolish, and attached. He loves Baekhyun with his whole heart and can’t even recognize that it is _never_ reciprocated. Not even now, as he leans down and captures Baekhyun’s lips with his own.

But, if Baekhyun keeps thinking about it, he’ll drown in it all—the guilt, the anger, the hate.

So, he lets his eyes flutter closed and the thoughts filter out of his head. Allowing himself to feel. To _only_ feel.

Baëkhyun’s lips are pillow-plush, sweet with lip balm, and salty with Baekhyun’s sweat. And he kisses like he lives, unapologetic, curious, explorative, coaxing Baekhyun to deepen the kiss. To give up control.

And he does, though reluctantly. And that’s the last push before he’s gone completely, focused solely on his body, on his pleasure.

It helps that he can feel Baëkhyun’s own satisfaction and desire through their bond.

His hands slide up the back of Baëkhyun’s thighs, squeezing roughly. Baëkhyun bites his lips harshly enough that Baekhyun flinches back, eyes snapping open.

“Play rough and I’ll do the same, _love_ ,” Baëkhyun says, voice saccharine. And something about his tone brings the fight back into Baekhyun, his lip curling angrily. But, Baëkhyun pins him before he can upseat the clone and change their position, and he holds Baekhyun down until he relaxes again. “Settle down, you and I both know that’s not what we need,” he says.

No. They need tender loving care. They need someone who’s kind to the both of them when they can’t handle being gentle towards one another.

Baëkhyun resumes his kisses, carding his hands in Baekhyun’s hair and tugging ever so slightly (not enough to hurt, but enough for Baekhyun to be aware of it). Then, apparently bored of Baekhyun’s mouth, he changes tactics and kisses along his jaw, all the way up to the place where it meets his ear.

His breath tickles. “It’s okay to cry,” he says quietly, voice hardly audible, even so close to Baekhyun’s ear. He presses a delicate, sweet smooch on his cheek, waiting patiently for the floodgates to break.

And, try as Baekhyun might to keep holding back, this is the turning point. Where he cries because he needs to. And Baëkhyun is with him through it all, laying the softest of kisses all over his body, petting his head, holding him close and giving him someone to cry to.

After that, Baekhyun’s tired and empty of all thought. He’d though he was ready to heal earlier, but it’s now, when all of the fight’s bled out of him, leaving him pliable and in need of being taken apart and put back together. _“Please_ ,” he murmurs, a whisper that cascades across Baëkhyun’s neck, warm and pleading.

It invigorates Baëkhyun to be wanted like this. To be _needed_ in this moment. And the effect is immediate and electrifying. Baëkhyun laves his tongue down Baekhyun’s neck, kissing, biting, sucking. He pauses at Baekhyun’s nipples, shows them attentive care, and then moves beyond.

His hand wraps around Baekhyun’s cock and tugs. He sits back and revels at the way Baekhyun shakes under him, arching for more. And then, he’s settling between Baekhyun’s legs, keeping one hand on his cock while his other pushes Baekhyun’s thighs apart.

Pleasure races up Baekhyun’s spine when Baëkhyun blows against his hole in warning. And then, he’s mouthing over the spot, tongue gradually working Baekhyun up.

He adds a finger to the mix almost belatedly, tracing around Baekhyun’s rim before pressing into him in one smooth motion that has Baekhyun sighing and relaxing to the stretch. It’s not often they do this, especially not with Baekhyun allowing Baëkhyun control of how things go.

But, he opens up beautifully beneath the clone, his breath panting out staccato, sweat matting his hair, hands clenched in the sheets. Baëkhyun continues to finger him, sitting backand watching how Baekhyun’s face twists after he adds the third finger. Baekhyun’s erection’s flagged, despite all the attention Baëkhyun’s paid it, so he leans down and presses open mouthed kisses up Baekhyun’s cock, finally pausing to swallow him down until his nose is pressed into the curls at the base of Baekhyun’s dick.

Baekhyun _keens_ , hands flying up to Baëkhyun’s hair, fingers wrapping up in his tangled locks. “ _More_ ,” he breathes. Then, “ _Please,_ I’m ready, Baëk.”

But Baëkhyun continues to bob his head up and down Baekhyun’s shaft, his hands pressing knowingly against that spot inside Baekhyun. He _thrives_ off the way Baekhyun trembles and shakes beneath his hands, on the edge, but not yet tipping over it.

And just when that release seems eminent, Baëkhyun pulls away, ignoring Baekhyun’s whine of frustration. He _shushes_ him quietly, placatingly, as he reaches over for the lube and adds some to his hand, pausing to warm it before he coats his dick.

Then, he’s lining up at Baekhyun’s entrance and pushing in, a long moan sighing from his throat at the feeling. Baekhyun’s quiet, his eyes squeezed shut, breath coming out as a soft sigh.

Baëkhyun massages his hips, rubbing small circles in them and tracing up his sides while he waits for Baekhyun to adjust.

And he does, though slowly. And once he does, he’s pulling Baëkhyun close with a plea to _move_. Baëkhyun delivers, hips rocking back and forth, slow, but powerful, driving them up the bed until Baekhyun anchors a hand above his head and starts to roll his hips back.

Baëkhyun digs his hands into Baekhyun’s thighs, the skin white around his fingertips. There will be marks left behind. Reminders of this night.

Baekhyun comes with a sigh, reaching up and pulling Baëkhyun down on top of him, wrapping around him, kissing him languidly, lazily. And Baëkhyun indulges because he _never_ gets this. Never gets kind, sweet, loving Baekhyun. Baekhyun who pulls him closer rather than pushes him away.

He comes then, head hanging between his shoulders, sweat dripping from his face. And Baekhyun eases him down from his high, drawing long, gentle lines up his back and sides.

Baëkhyun gets up a few minutes later and walks to the sink, cleaning himself off before returning to the bed with a rag to wipe down Baekhyun with. Every pass of the rag over Baekhyun’s skin is like an act of worship, something affectionate that Baëkhyun offers up to him with the hope that he’ll get only a smidgen of it in return. And all the while, Baekhyun watches him with dark eyes, swirling with old emotions, old memories, old dreams.

When Baëkhyun returns to bed, he almost fears that their moment has been broken already. That Baekhyun will push him away and resume that heartrending apathy. But, he doesn’t.

He gathers Baëkhyun up in his arms and pulls him close, his chin perched above Baëkhyun’s head. Baëkhyun’s breath washes out over his chest, first in short, anxious breaths, and then, when he realizes that Baekhyun has no plans of turning him away, in long, tired sighs.

He’s asleep in minutes. But Baekhyun stays awake. Long enough for the afterglow to fade and leave him feeling more empty than before.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Do be on the lookout for when the parent work for this comes out, I'm working very hard on it! ❤︎
> 
> You can find me on my [writing twitter](https://twitter.com/sophluorescent) OR my [personal twitter!](https://twitter.com/syzygybbh)
> 
> Want to share head-canons or are too shy to leave a comment, i have a [curiouscat](https://t.co/KYC8gCVmPh?amp=1) !


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